dacs.doc electric

If you have ever spent hours searching for a CD, tape, or vinyl album, only to find that the song you thought was on it, isn't, then you know how difficult it is to try to locate a particular song the old fashioned way. Or maybe you've gone through every storage place in your home, looking for that CD to no avail. Later you find it in your spouses car, or even your own. Although you listen to music in many places, a CD can only be in one. And then there is that favorite song on a CD full of garbage. Why carry a CD of 12 songs when you only want to listen to one of them? In the past, maybe you made cassette tape compilations to get over this dilemma. Or at least tried it once or twice, to be put off by the fact that it takes at least the length of the tape in time to do so, usually more. So to make a 90-minute cassette tape of your favorite songs, you spent one - two - three - fours hours, and then on the last song, the tape ran out of room - with only 10 more seconds of that final song to go! If you've experienced any of these dilemmas then read on. A digital library will help you solve all of the above problems and more.

Here are some of the things a Digital Library will help you do:

• Listen to the CD your spouse has in the car, because you have a digital copy on your hard drive.
• Make a copy of the CD so you and your spouse can both keep one in your cars.
• Make a compilation of all those "one song wonders", so you never have to listen to the 11 other tracks of junk they put on that CD.
• Make a compilation CD of your favorite tunes, and create a label immediately. And if the last song won't fit, you'll know before you begin to burn the CD.
• Never lose a CD again, because if Uncle Harry borrows it and never returns it before going off to Bora Bora, you have a digital copy.
• Make a birthday, New Year, anniversary, etc., compilation to play at your party. Fill it with only the tunes you want and then either make CDs or distribute it digitally to your home stereo for playback right from your computer.
• Select, play, and control your music from anywhere in the house by using a network player.
• Take your music jogging or on vacation in a device that can hold thousands of songs but weighs less than a portable CD player.
• Record your vinyl and analog tape collection to digital format - burn them to CD for listening in your car and/or listen to them via your computer.
• Use the same tools that allow you to transfer your CD's to hard disk to listen to Internet Radio from around the world.

Making a Digital Library

How can I build a Digital Library?
There are several ways to build up a "legal" mp3 library. File sharing systems such as Napster and Audiogalaxy may be a quick way to get a lot of mp3 files, but as the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for". Beyond the copyright issues peer2peer swapping engenders, many people are disappointed in the sound quality of the files and find that trying to organize them is a long and painstaking process. My advice is to use your current CD collection, vinyl albums, and tapes. While there is some time and effort involved in getting your CD collection recorded to your hard drive, you will have a legal, and if you follow the tips I've collected here, great sounding and organized collection of your music. After you have cataloged all of your CDs, convert your vinyl records and analog tapes to add to your collection of digital music, and then see what files you want to pay for on the Internet vs. acquiring by buying the CD.

There are many "legal" and high quality download avenues, such as Emusic www.emusic.com, PressPlay(tm) www.pressplay.com, and MP3.COM(tm) www.mp3.com to name a few. You can find some of my favorites on my LINKS page at the Frank's Americana(tm) website http://www.franksamericana.com.

What is ripping?

Ripping is a term for "digitally copying" the audio from an audio CD. It is similar to copying a file from a floppy or CD to your hard drive. Programs like AudioStation(, MusicMatch( Jukebox, Windows Media( Player, and Real One( all offer free versions and are available on the Internet for download. All of the ones mentioned will allow digital copying and cataloging on your hard drive of CDs you "ripp". We'll talk more about programs for ripping in a minute.

One of the other benefits of "ripping" is that if you are connected to the Internet and use a program that is partnered with Gracenote(tm) or All Music(tm) CD Database services, the program will also retrieve the track number, album title, artist, track name, durations, and the genre of music from the Internet. More on how this will help you organize your music collection can be found later in this article. For now, just remember that whenever you "ripp" a CD, it is best to use one of these services (they are free) so that your music can be organized by Artist, Album, Genre, and Title.

What audio file format should I ripp to?

There are many different file formats that can be used to store audio files on your PC. The one most of us have heard about is MP3, but, depending on the program you choose, you will be presented with some other options. There are also file formats for streaming and compressing video that we will not explore in this article. Just be aware that you will also see files types like wmv (Windows Media Video) and mov (Quicktime).

Each of these formats uses a codec, which is a small piece of software used to either encode (make) an audio file or decode (play back) an audio file. The codec converts the audio to the file formats specification.

In Windows XP and 2000 you can find the list of codecs currently installed on your machine by going to the Start --> Control Panel --> Sounds & Audio Devices --> Hardware --> Audio Codecs --> Properties. In Widows 98 choose the Start --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Multimedia --> Devices --> Audio Compression Codecs. The various audio software programs may install their own codecs and unless you know what you are doing, it is best to leave them alone. Also note, that many audio programs do not share their codecs with other programs and you may not see all of the codecs installed on your system by going to the listing described above.

Like other pieces of system software, the audio codecs work behind the scene to convert bits and bytes to sound. The codecs are associated with file formats, and the file formats are what you really need to understand.

Here are the most popular file formate for PC audio and a brief explanation of each:

Below is a breakdown of the most popular file formats and the benefits and disadvantages of each:

I use and recommend ripping your tracks to 160kbps CBR mp3 format. Although many people swear by WMA, the Microsoft format, because of its smaller file size for comparable quality, I have found many CD burning programs and cataloging programs don't provide full functionality for WMA files. MP3 has many "freeware and shareware" programs that are available to help you use and organize
your collection. I just haven't found that level of support available for any other format. And personally, I like the sound quality vs. files size, of MP3 encoded at 160kbps. It is a personal choice, and regardless of what format you use, and what bitrate you decide to encode your files in, the majority of benefits I will describe here are available.

What's Next?

We've covered a lot of ground in this first installment of my series on Digital Music. In future installments we'll cover:

• How to “ripp” your CDs to your hard drive and what programs to use.
• How to convert analog tapes and vinyl records to digital format.
• How to find and listen to Internet Radio Stations from around the country and the world.
• Ways to connect your digital library to your home entertainment system.